Radial coupler draft gear arrangement



Sept 22, 1964 E. G. DUNLOP 3,149,731

RADIAL coUPLRR DRAFT GEAR ARRANGEMRNT Filed Feb. 21, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 'Illa 11.11A 'lill' 'lill A llllllllll TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.

F162. INvENToR EoMoND 6. DUNLOP ATTORNE Sept. 22, 1964 E. G. DUNLOP 3,149,731

RADIAL couPLER DRAFT GEAR ARRANGEMENT Filed Feb. 21, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR EoMoNn G. DUNLOP yzi Arrofz s Sept. 22, 1964 E. G. DUNLOP RADIAL COUPLES DRAFT GEAR ARRANGEMENT 5 sheets-sheet s Filed Feb. 2l, 1965 mm. mmf mm mm .mm

0 www R OU N TD Nvpon WM n A mm m LY United States Patent O 3,149,731 RADlAL CGUPLER DRAFT GEAR ARRANGEMENT Edmond G. Dunlop, St. Louis, Mo., assigner to General Steel Industries, inc., Granite City, lll., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 2l, 1963, Ser. No. 266,215 13 Claims. (Cl. Mil-9) The invention relates to railway draft appliances and consists particularly in an improved arrangement of a radially movable coupler and its draft gear.

In conventional radially movable couplers, the draft gear is mounted in the radially movable coupler mounting arm so that all bufng forces are transmitted from car to car through the connected coupler arms. Because of the necessary vertical offset of the coupler arm from the center line of draft, all boiling forces are applied eccentri* cally to the underframe. However, recently promulgated ICC regulations pertaining to electric motor cars which are frequently fitted with radi-ally movable couplers provide:

The unit structure shall resist a maximum static end load of 400,000 pounds at the rear draft stops ahead of the bolster on the center line of draft without developing any permanent deformation in any member of the unit structure.

The main object of the invention is to reduce to nominal zero the bending moment on underframes caused by buff and draft forces of offset radial couplers.

It is a further object to provide a radial coupler arrangement in which all bufling loads in excess of normal operating bufng loads are transmitted from car to car by buffer structure aligned with the center line of draft.

It is a more detailed object of the invention to provide a radial coupler arrangement in which normal operating buff loads are transmitted through the radial couplers to cushioned longitudinally movable buffers aligned with the center sill of the car with buff loads in excess of the normal loads being transmitted directly from car to car by actual engagement of their buers.

It is a further object to provide a relatively high capacity energy absorbing device between the buffer and the car center sill and to pivotally connect the radial coupler arm to the buffer, with a low capacity energy absorbing device between the coupler and the buffer, whereby when a predetermined buing load, taken by the low capacity device, is exceeded, the buffers of adjacent cars will be engaged and buifing loads in excess thereof will be taken by the high capacity device.

These and additional more detailed objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an end View of a railway car embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional View of the radial coupler and draft gear therefor taken along line 2--2 of FIG. l.

FIG. 3 is a tranverse vertical sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are partial longitudinal vertical sectional views along the longitudinal center line of the coupler arm and draft gear.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4, but of another embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. l shows an end of a railway car body 1 provided in its lower margin with a central rectangular opening, as at 2, to receive a buffer 3 whichis slidably mounted in center sill 5. A circle bar 7 is supported by brackets 9 from the bottom of the car and slidably mounts a slider 11, from which is resiliently ice suspended coupler carrier 13, in which coupler shank l5 is mounted for lengthwise slidable movement.

Buffer 3 is of generally T-shape in plan with its cross bar i7 extending transversely of the car and projecting a substantial distance outwardly of the car end. The exposed face l of the cross bar is arcuate in plan and is provided with spaced outwardly directed horizontal ribs 19 to form an anticlimber of conventional form. The inward extension Z1 of the T is of rectangular cross section and extends rearwardly into the end of center sill 5, which may be of the conventional hat cross section. Intermediate its ends, extension 21 is transversely rectangularly recessed as at 23 to form a draft gear yoke having top and bottom walls 225 and 27 and forward and rear transverse vertical walls 29 and 31. The upright side walls 33 of sill 5 yare formed with inwardly projecting upright forward and `rear draft lugs 35 and 37 in transverse alignment, respectively, with transverse walls 29 and 3l of the butfer yoke portion, and forward and rear follower plates 39 and 41 extend 'transversely through recess 23 and are held in abutting engagement respectively with forward wall 29 and forward lugs 35, and with rear wall 3l and rear lugs 37 by a high capacity energy absorbing device, such as rubber draft gear- 43, whereby, upon receipt of an impact by the exposed face of buffer 3, forward wall 2.9 will cause forward follower plate 39 to move rearwardly, compressing draft gear 43 against the rear follower plate 4l, which is restrained against rear ward movement by sill-mounted rear lugs 37, much of the energy of the impact being absorbed by compression of the draft gear.

Rearwardly of buffer yoke rear wall 3l, its side walls are extended, as at 45, to form a clevis, in which is recessed, and pivotally connected, by means` of transversely extending pin 47, radial connection 49. Radial connection 49 has vertically spaced rearwardly extending horizontal projections 51, which form a double clevis in which are received and pivotaily connected, by means of vertical pivot pin 53, cooperating horizontal projections 55 of radial coupler arm 57.

Coupler arm 57 extends downwardly and forwardly, i.e., toward the adjacent end of the car, from its pivotal connection to the buffer, and terminates some distance inwardly from the outer end of the buffer in a cylindrical extension 59 of reduced diameter, whereby a. shoulder 53 is formed where the extension commences. Spaced follower washes 61 and 63 wtih a cylindrical relatively low capacity energy absorbing device, such as annular rubber draft gear 65, between them, are mounted on extension 59 and are held thereon by a collar 67 aflxed to the forward end portion of extension 59. The rear portion of the shank 15 of tightlock coupler 69 is a hollow cylinder 71, the forward portion 73 of which has a reduced inside diameter to form a shoulder '75 normally engageable with forward follower washer 61. The rear end of cylinder 7l is closed by a screw cap 7'7 which forms a similar shoulder 79 normally engaging rear follower washer 63, so that, in buff, as the coupler shank moves rearwardly, from its normal position shown in FIG. 4, shoulder 75, acting through washer 61, will compress low'capacity draft gear 65 against rear washer 63, which is held against rearward movement by engagement with shoulder 58 on arm 57. When the coupler moves a predetermined distance, to the position shown in FIG. 5, anticlimber ribs 19 of buffers 3 on adjacent cars engage, and all bufng forces in excess of the predetermined low value required to compress the low capacity draft gear 65 cause movement of the buffers lengthwise of the car center sills and are partially absorbed by compression of high capacity draft gear 43 before being transmitted to the sill through rear draft lugs 37. Thus, irrespective of the vertical displacement of the coupler arm from the center line of the center sill, all buiiing forces including the normal operating bufng forces (which were taken by the low capacity draft gear 65) and forces in excess thereof transmitted directly by the buffers are taken along the center line of draft through the buffers, the high capacity draft gear 43, and the rear draft lugs, thus eliminating the application of any buff loads to the center sill eccentrically of the center line thereof.

Operation of the device is as follows: During normal operation, the normal low order buff and draft forces will be taken principally by the low capacity draft gear 65 carried by the radial coupler arms, and will be transmitted therefrom into the center sill through buffer 3, draft gear 43 and rear draft lugs 37. When low order bufing forces are exceeded, as in a collision, the low capacity gears 65 compress sufficiently to permit engagement of the buffer anticlimber faces, and all bufing forces in excess of those incurred under normal operating conditions are transmitted from car to car by buffers 3, and transmitted to the center sill by means of high capacity draft gear 43 and the rear draft lugs 37. Under all conditions, bufting loads are transmitted into the center sill symmetrically of the center line of draft through the rear draft lugs.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6, the buffer 7S is similar in construction and location in the car underframe to buffer 3, except that inwardly of yoke portion 76, its top and bottom walls are extended as at Si) and ft2 to form, with forward and rear lugs Sl and 83, a pocket for low capacity horizontal yoke S5, in the recess 87 of which is positioned a low capacity energy absorbing device, such as draft gear 39, and forward and rear follower plates f1 and 93, normally held against the aligned transverse walls of the yoke and the forward and rear followers by draft gear 89. Yoke terminates in a clevis 95, in which is received and pivotally connected by transverse pivot pin 97, radial connection 9g, substantially like the corresponding element in the previous embodiment. The rear end of the radial coupler arm lill, on which coupler head w3 is rigidly mounted, is pivotally secured, for radial movement in the horizontal plane, by means of vertical pivot pin 105, to radial connection 99. Arm fdl is supported from the car underframe for radial movement by carrier 13.

Operation of this form of the invention is basically similar to that of the previous embodiment. During normal operation, buff and draft forces applied to the coupler cause lengthwise movement oft he coupler arm, which in turn, acting through the radial connection 99, causes similar movement of yoke 85 and compression of low capacity gear 87 against the forward or rear lugs S1 or 83 of the buffer extension pocket. The forces are transmitted therefrom through the buffer, the high capacity draft gear, and the draft lugs or stops 35 and 37 into the center sill. When a predetermined buing load is exceeded, the low capacity gear 37 will permit the couplers to move inwardly a sufficient distance that the buffers 78 on the adjacent cars abut, after which higher bufng forces will be taken by the buffers, the high capacity gears 43, and the rear draft lugs into the center sills of the adjacent cars.

The invention may be modified in various respects as will occur to those skilled in the art and the exclusive use of all modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a railway car body, a buffer at an end thereof and moveable lengthwise thereof, high capacity energy absorbing means between said buffer and the car body, a radial coupler arm pivoted to said buffer and mounting a coupler at its free end, said coupler normally protruding a su'icient distance longitudinally of the car from said buffer to space said buffer from a corresponding bulfer on an adjacent coupler car, lower capacity energy absorbing means between said coupler and ana-egel said buffer whereby when the buff load on said low capacity means exceeds a predetermined value, said buffer will engage the corresponding buffer on the adjacent coupled car causing movement of said buffer and application l thereby of the buff load to the high capacity energy absorbing means.

2. ln combination with a railway car body, a buffer at an end thereof and movable lengthwise thereof, high capacity energy absorbing means between said buffer and the car body, a radial coupler arm pivoted to said buffer, a coupler mounted on said arm for movement lengthwise of said arm and normally protruding a sufficient distance lengthwise of the car from said buffer to space said buffer from a corresponding buer on an adjacent coupled car, lower capacity energy absorbing means between said buffer and said arm whereby when the buif load on said lower capacity means exceeds a predetermined value, said buffer will engage the corresponding buffer on the adjacent coupled car causing movement of said buffer and application thereby of the buff load to the high capacity energy absorbing means.

3. in combination with a railway car body, a buffer at an end thereof and movable lengthwise thereof, high capacity energy absorbing means between said buffer and tne car body, a radial coupler arm pivoted to said buffer, a coupler mounted on said arm and immovable lengthwise thereof, said coupler normally protruding a sufficient distance longitudinally of the car from said buffer to space said buffer from a corresponding buffer on an adjacent coupled car, lower capacity energy absorbing means between the pivotal connection and said buffer whereby when the buff load on said lower capacity means exceeds a predetermined value, said buffer will engage the corresponding buffer on the adjacent coupled car causing movement of said buffer and application thereby of the butt` load to the high capacity energy absorbing means.

4. In combination with a railway car body, a radial coupler arrangement comprising a buffer movable lengthwise of the car, high capacity energy absorbing means interposed between said buffer and the car body, a coupler, an arm mounting said coupler and pivotally connected to said buffer for swiveling movement in a horizontal plane, said coupler normally protruding a sufficient disstance longitudinally of the car from said buffer to space said buffer from a corresponding buffer on an adjacent coupled car, lower capacity energy absorbing means interposed between said coupler and said buffer and adapted to yield sufficiently under bufing loads to permit the corresponding buffer on the adjacent coupled car to abuttingly engage said buffer whereby bumng forces in excess of a predetermined value are transmitted directly from the buffer of the adjacent car to said buffer to produce movement thereof lengthwise of said car body and thereby compress said high capacity energy absorbing means.

5. ln combination with a railway car body, a radial coupler arrangement comprising a buffer movable lengthwise of the car, high capacity energy absorbing means interposed between said buffer and the car body, an arm pivotally connected to said buffer for swiveling movement in a horizontal plane, a coupler mounted for movement lengthwise of said arm and normally protruding a suflicient distance lengthwise of the car from said buffer to space said buffer from a corresponding buffer on an adjacent coupled car, lower capacity energy absorbing means interposed between said coupler and said arm and adapted to yield sufficiently under buing loads to permit the corresponding buffer on the adjacent coupled car to abuttingly engage said buffer whereby bufling forces in excess of a predetermined value are transmitted directly from the buffer of the adjacent cat to said buffer to produce movement thereof lengthwise of said car body and thereby compress said high capacity energy absorbing means.

6. In combination with a railway car body, a radial coupler arrangement comprising a butler movable lengthwise of the car, high capacity energy absorbing means interposed between said buier and said car body, an element movable lengthwise of said butler, lower capacity energy absorbing means interposed between said element and said buffer, an arm pivotally connected to said element for swiveling movement in a horizontal plane, a coupler mounted on said arm and normally protruding a sufficient distance lengthwise of the car from said buier to space said buffer from a corresponding buer on an adjacent coupled car, said lower capacity energy absorbing means being adapted to yield sufficiently under bufng loads to permit the corresponding buffer on the adjacent coupled car to abuttingly engage said buier whereby buing forces in excess of a predetermined value are transmitted directly from the buer of the adjacent car to said buffer to produce movement thereof lengthwise of said car body and thereby compress said high capacity energy absorbing means.

7. In combination with a railway car body having a hollow longitudinally extending center sill, a radial coupler and draft gear arrangement comprising a buier slidably received in said sill for movement lengthwise thereof, high capacity energy absorbing means interposed between said buler and said center sill, a coupler, a radial arm mounting said coupler and pivotally connected to said buffer for swiveling movement in a horizontal plane, said coupler normally protruding a suiticient distance longitudinally of the car from said buffer to space said buffer from a corresponding buffer on an adjacent coupled car, lower capacity energy absorbing means interposed between said coupler and said buffer and adapted to yield sufficiently under buing loads to permit the corresponding buffer on the adjacent coupled car to abuttingly engage said buifer whereby buing forces in excess of a predetermined value are transmitted directly from the buffer of the adjacent car to said butter to produce movement lengthwise of said center sill and thereby compress said high capacity energy absorbing means.

8. Structure according to claim 7 wherein said coupler is movable lengthwise of said arm and said lower capacity energy absorbing means is between said coupler and said arm.

9. Structure according to claim 7 wherein said coupler is immovable lengthwise of said arm and said lower capacity energy absorbing means is between the pivotal connection of said arrn and said buffer.

10. Structure according to claim 7 wherein the outer end portion of said butler is widened transversely of the car and the inner portion of said buer is elongated lengthwise of the car to facilitate its slidable reception in said center sill.

11. Structure according to claim 10 wherein the outer transverse surface of said transversely widened outer end portion of said butter is arcuate in plan about the axis of the pivotal connection of said arm to said buffer.

12. Structure according to claim 1l wherein the arcuate outer surface of said butler is provided with vertically spaced horizontal ribs to form an anticlimber.

13. Structure according to claim 7 wherein said buffer is transversely recessed intermediate its ends and said center sill mounts draft lugs in transverse alignment with the ends of the recess, said high capacity energy absorbing means being positioned in said recess in opposing relation with the end walls thereof and with said aligned draft lugs.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 428,118 Martin et al. May 20, 1890 1,648,893 Comley Nov. 15, 1927 2,530,756 Blomberg Nov. 21, 1950 2,533,940 Johnson Dec. 12, 1950 2,802,580 Larsson Aug. 13, 1957 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A RAILWAY CAR BODY, A BUFFER AT AN END THEREOF AND MOVEABLE LENGTHWISE THEREOF, HIGH CAPACITY ENERGY ABSORBING MEANS BETWEEN SAID BUFFER AND THE CAR BODY, A RADIAL COUPLER ARM PIVOTED TO SAID BUFFER AND MOUNTING A COUPLER AT ITS FREE END, SAID COUPLER NORMALLY PROTRUDING A SUFFICIENT DISTANCE LONGITUDINALLY OF THE CAR FROM SAID BUFFER TO SPACE SAID BUFFER FROM A CORRESPONDING BUFFER ON AN ADJACENT COUPLER CAR, LOWER CAPACITY ENERGY ABSORBING MEANS BETWEEN SAID COUPLER AND SAID BUFFER WHEREBY WHEN THE BUFF LOAD ON SAID LOW CAPACITY MEANS EXCEEDS A PREDETERMINED VALUE, SAID BUFFER WILL ENGAGE THE CORRESPONDING BUFFER ON THE ADJACENT COUPLED CAR CAUSING MOVEMENT OF SAID BUFFER AND APPLICATION THEREBY OF THE BUFF LOAD TO THE HIGH CAPACITY ENERGY ABSORBING MEANS. 